Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Hospital Humor

Funny thing today: My mom's name is Susan and her Registered Nurse's name was Susan. My name is Jessica. Mom's Nurses Assistant's name was Jessica.

Good Things Today: Because Mom is in the Hospital she has nurses (and NA's) who know how to help her move and go to the bathroom. I have no clue when it comes to moving/helping people move. Its also good because she's able to get fluids, blood transfusions, and meds through her IV.

Not So Funny Thing Today: It took for-ev-er to get her CT scan done today. She want allowed to eat or drink. Her 12/1 pm CT scan ended up being about 5:45 ish. Long time when you want a drink!

Kind of Scary Thing Today: She's still kind of high on the temperature end of things, and she has even less strength. The lack of strength has moved to her arms and is now using only her right arm to do any maneuvering.

Great Things Today: Our cheerful visitors! Even if you come with a friend and chat she likes to be in the middle of things. She may not be all chatty but it makes her happy to hear things going on! She's in 502-1. When people werent in her room I was reading a funny book which she seemed able to listen to and enjoy!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

One in Every Color-Fridge, Stove, Dishwasher

While were on the dream sewing room lets head right over to the dream kitchen. These are the dream appliances. (Made by a company called Big Chill.) I think I'd like a fridge, dishwasher and oven/stove in red. I would like black granite or concrete countertops. I would like my counter tops to be about 3 inches lower than the average counter tops. This has been run by Luke with the understanding that we'll have a very tall shower, and tall bathroom counters. Deal. I would like lighter cabinets. Luke prefers wood and that's fine. I would like a giant kitchen sink two sections, and a tall faucet with a retractable sprayer with a control button option.
I would LOOOOOVE a large island topped with a butcher block. No sinks no fixtures just  an outlet on the side. This is where Ill be doing all my baking! (I'm banking on the idea that big chill will come up with a way to install a second oven with the same look just under the microwave.)

I'll also take one of these! Probably hanging over the island for convenience, and I intend to have something like this plate rack for maybe 10 or so of my Fiesta plates to be arranged in seasonal color combinations!

Sigh....a girl can dream right? :)

Monday, February 22, 2010

One In Every Color-Tape

I'm definitely lusting after this tape found <here> at Happy Tape! Happy Tape people...does it get any better? And yah I know I have a whole stack of ribbon that looks just like this tape... but they'll look so great together in my dream craft room on dispensers like this painted to match!
And one wall over there will be cubbies with fabric and yarn also arranged chromatically. No baskets. I want to see the colors. The bottom wide shelves will be full of pattern books and magazines.
In the middle of this fictional dream room will be a giant table for cutting and blocking and ironing.
The wall with no windows will be corner to corner Wonder Wall. (Sort of like a flannel board) Ill be able to have my projects in progress clinging to that wall and there will be enough open space there so I can lay there with my feet in the air staring at it, and just enough space more so that when Luke walks in to ask me when dinner is and wonders what the heck I'm doing he can join me and lay there looking too! (And then get bored out of his mind and leave to watch ESPN.) 10 minutes later I might start dinner.

Wow...look what that tape started...

Sometimes Its Better To Not Say Anything

I haven't blogged in quite a while as things got rather interesting. Sometimes there's a fine line between blog material and things that will get you in trouble if the wrong reader should happen to come across it. Ooops! I decided that it might be better to hold off on the blogging and well things just took quite a while to wrap themselves up.
1.) Crazy intense week helping mom her first week in the classroom. I'm a strong personality with a potentially dominant teaching style. It was HARD work to make sure she was staying the boss, but keeping her chemo brain organized, setting up her class. I felt kind of like Oz being behind the scenes, but I know recognize that being the lead is a lot more fun/easier. I also learned the value of separation. Being "at work" and then coming home with her and driving everywhere was too much. Luke wisely suggested I be sure to go to the gym and spend 45 min somewhere not home just reading. Good escape. I read Tamora Pierce's Protector of the Small Quartet over the following week and a half.

2.) Super fun weekend with the "O" girls. I got to play "gymnastics" mom and we made some fun invisible ink.
3.) I got sick. It was the Jr. Highers or waking up waaaaaay too early for too many days. Took me out for about a week. Mom was still pushing through with teaching again (she has Multiple Myeloma and within the last year has undergone chemo AND radiation). She was coming home and passing out as soon as she got here. I was glad to be the supportive happier daughter when I picked her up and took her places again.

4.) I headed up to Moscow to see Luke! Yay! And work on wedding quilt blocks with roommates and friends in Moscow! Yay! It was a great weekend! Luke is great! I got to cook! (They graciously let the living/kitchen space be my "turf" when I'm there. Not like they don't get some pretty good meals out of it though (if I do say so myself.)
5.) My congestion hadn't completely cleared up and had been aggravated from the flying to Moscow. I had 4 take offs and landings to get home so I was VERY wary. When I woke up the morning I was supposed to go home with MORE congestion I said "I think I'll reschedule." (Having already had 1 ruptured ear drum under my belt I did not want another.) I went to Wal-Mart and loaded up on decongestant and nasal sprays, and hunkered down for a glorious week in Moscow. There's something about that place. I cooked, I went to see Luke and Marks intramural games. I visited with friends. Luke, Mark and I even worked on and finished a baby quilt top for their cousin!

6.) I had the most grand adventure on the way home. I have a horrible pattern of not waking up for important things. I kind of sort of woke up at 6:20 in the morning and my flight was scheduled to leave at 6:45...panic! AHHHH! I yelled....Luke heard me and started hauling my stuff out to the car faster than I even knew he could wake up. He drove to the airport faster than anyone should probably safely drive and I'm on the phone trying to figure out if I can reschedule my flight before I have to buy a whole new ticket. We get to the airport in maybe 5 min flat. (No joke.)There's no plane which is unusual. I'm hoping maybe it hasn't landed yet and not that it just left. I run in. The Pullman airport is small and rather sparse so it wasn't completely weird for me to run up to the man at the desk and say "Is there any chance that the flight out hasnt landed yet?" He tells me "it just flew over to Lewiston." My heart sank and as I was walking away defeated it took my brain maybe 15 min to finally process that it FLEW OVER! The commuter plane didn't stop to pick up the passengers! They would have to reschedule everyone! I'm SAVED! My bank account is saved! (Plane tickets in and out of Pullman/Moscow aren't cheap.) Not only was I saved but I was one lucky duck. Because I hadn't gone through security yet I was first in line! AND was first on best plane out of there! AND I got to fly with Kelly a friend also visiting Moscow which meant we got to have smoothies together in Seattle!

7.) Mom has Pneumonia and is really unstable and tired a lot. She is done teaching at least until August. Please keep her in your prayers. Things aren't looking too hot from this angle. I was subbing on Friday and this poor unknowing second grader was telling me that she was sad because her grandpa died. He had cancer and then he got Pneumonia. Ugh. Not the thing I wanted to hear. To those of you who I told I would be at church this morning and think I ditched you...I kind of did, but we had a rather dramatic scare this morning. I woke up and heard mom sobbing in their room. Then I heard the word broken in my dad's voice. This is an underlying fear of Multiple Myeloma because it puts little pores/lesions in her bones and makes them very weak. Dad told me they heard a crack and she had fallen and that she thought she might have broken her ankle. I was so scared her legs are so weak already. She did not need one more thing. We took her sock off. Nothing looked wrong. Then she started moving her foot around and said there were no pains. I felt so sick. I'm normally someone who can hold it together until after and am generally a person of action. I just had to go back to my room and lay down and sleep. I felt lame for leaving my dad, but I'm starting to learn that my body might be using sleep as a defense mechanism. Everyone sort of hung around the fort today. My dad worked on HIS wedding quilt block. I did some hand quilting on the baby quilt. Mom slept, ate, sort of incoherently interjected in conversation, and then slept some more. Its hard to know what to think, and what to expect. Today wasn't a bad day. It was actually some pretty good family time, but man life throws us curve balls.